Russell
Russell, Freddie's basis, is a narrow gauge engine built for the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway, but most famously associated with the Welsh Highland Railway. Origins Russell was ordered from the Hunslet Engine Co. on 13 February 1906 by G.C.Aitchison as Manager of the Portmadoc, Beddgelert And South Snowdon Railway, but destined for the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Company. A specification had been prepared dated 31 January. Drawings were prepared and by 26 May the engine was already undergoing steam trials. Three days later it left Leeds for North Wales. The remarkably short time in which the engine was built has produced several theories, the best one being the design was based on a class of 2-6-2T engines built from 1898 for the Sierra Leone Government Railway. Details differed, and it was larger than the Sierra Leone class, though of a narrower gauge. It was carried on outside frames to the driving wheels, with inside frames to the pony trucks, whilst Walschaert's Valve Gear was employed. Russell also bears a close resemblance in several aspects to the Hunslet 0-6-2T "Leeds No.1" used on a reservoir tramway in Yorkshire. Russell appears to have been a replacement for the existing engine Beddgelert, built by Hunslet in 1878, which worked the important slate traffic on the Bryngwn branch. This engine was scrapped on the arrival of Russell, probably being beyond economic repair. Under an agreement of November 1904 the NWNGR was to be electrified and extended by the PBSSR as part of that Company's plan to connect Carnarvon with Portmadoc. In January 1906 J. C. Russell, Chairman and Managing Director of the NWNGR wrote a letter complaining about the delay in carrying out the agreed electrification works of his Company's railway. At the time the work on building the PBSSR's new line had been at least partially suspended since the Autumn because of objections by the National Trust to the Board of Trade about the Aberglaslyn tunnels and, apparently only just resolved a few weeks before through the mediation of Lloyd George as President of the BOT. The delays were primarily because the PBSSR's sole financier (and therefore controller) was the North Wales Power And Traction Co. Ltd and that Company had overspent in its efforts to build a power station at Cym Dyli, designed to supply North Wales Slate Quarries as well as the railway. The Company was concentrating on getting the power station completed so that it would bring in income. This it succeeded in doing the following September, but money could not be raised to finish the railway works. Following Russell's letter the NWPT Co. Chairman had a meeting with him to make the best possible terms for postponing electrification of his line. This resulted in an agreement for a two year delay, and an undertaking from the NWPT that the PBSSR would recommence construction on or before March 1908 and complete the railways within a reasonable time of that date. Amongst other terms in the agreement was the following: "The Power Company to expend in restoring the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway for present steam working and in providing one steam locomotive a sum up to but not exceeding £2,500." Russell was therefore ordered by the PBSSR, paid for by the North Wales Power & Traction Co. Ltd which had born all the PBSSR's expenditure since 1905, and delivered to the NWNGR as that railway's property. The aspirations of the PBSSR were not realised and it took til 1922 when the Welsh Highland Railway fulfilled most of them (although not the Dinas Carnarvon section) as a steam worked line with deviations to avoid the steeper gradients which had been designed for electric trains. Russell survived to be taken over by the new Railway. In 1924, to allow through running over both the Welsh Highland Railway and the Ffestiniog Railway, Russell had its cab and boiler fittings cut down to suit the latter's restricted loading gauge. This was deemed unsuccessful - although it made just one trip to Blaenau Ffestiniog, the tolerances in the Moelwyn Tunnel were found to be so fine that it was never repeated. References: Documents in Gwynedd Archives plus information from various other sources, mainly Director's Reports and published accounts, Company Files at National Archives, local newspapers, contemporary electrical industry periodicals. Summarised in Welsh Highland Heritage 29, 33 and 34. A letter from H.F.Stephens of 27 October 1924 to the FR Managing Director "I strongly advise you to have "Russell" altered to enable it run through the Festiniog tunnel. This is a powerful engine, and would be very useful. I hope you will agree to this." (Reproduced in "Russell" by Andrew Neale, 1996.) War Effort Requisitioned for the War effort in 1942, it was overhauled at the Brymbo Steel Company and set to work on an opencast ironstone site near Hook Norton, Oxfordshire. At the end of the War, Russell was eventually sold by the Ministry of Supply, from Andover, to work in the Norden Clay Mines at Corfe, Dorset, belonging to Pike Bros., Fayle & Co. Ltd. Before it could be used, the gauge of the railway had to be reduced from 3ft 9" to 1 ft 11 1/2". Its work on industrial railways was not entirely successful and at various times it had its pony and trailing trucks removed, but with little real improvement. After severe damage to an axle in 1953, Russell was laid up. Birmingham Locomotive Society purchased Russell for £70 and transferred it to the Talyllyn Railway at Towyn. Return Home The Hunslet Company repaired the damage for free and Russell once again commenced its wanderings - to Kinnerley, Carnforth, Llanberis and finally to Gelert's Farm Works. During its journeying, it collected a new boiler (£3440 in 1969). Restoration to the splendid state that you now see was finished in 1987. Russell is now out of service undergoing an expensive major overhaul. It is hoped to get this fabulous locomotive back in service in time for the re-opening of the full WHR in 2009. This legendary Hunslet 2-6-2T visited the FR in 1988 and 1990, with its operation confined to Porthmadog - Rhiw Goch. It starred with Taliesin when visiting the WHR (Caernarfon) in 2000 for the Welsh Highland Ffestival on September 16-17, running between Caernarfon & Waunfawr. Category:Steam Engines Category:Real Life Engines Category:Tank Engines Category:Welsh Highland Railway Category:The Mainland Category:Red Engines Category:Narrow Gauge Engines Category:Visting Engines